1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 327 This bird is named Lovesickness

The sculpture exhibition at the Gold Center opened at 9:30 a.m., and shortly after 10 a.m., Rodrigo, guided by the art consultant, successfully found Ronan's dessert shop.

When serious collectors like Rodrigo visit exhibitions, they are always accompanied by art advisors. These advisors are both guides and living maps.

They arrived early, but by then a dozen people had already gathered around the artwork.

Moreover, there were indeed acquaintances of Rodrigo among them.

Rodrigo didn't rush over; he wouldn't be able to squeeze in to properly appreciate it anyway. He stopped in front of a piece that was at a suitable distance and asked the art consultant to explain it to him.

However, throughout the process, his gaze remained fixed on the area in front of Ronan's work, trying to determine whether the acquaintance was the person bidding against him.

"Marini, tell me from a professional perspective, what level is Ronan's work at?"

With such an important sculpture exhibition being held in Gold, how could the sculptor Marini not participate?

When Marini came to Gold, he naturally had to go with his inseparable candy tycoon, Gabriel.

Their first destination was Ronan's desserts.

Marini looked extremely pale.
"What level? It's definitely beyond my capabilities. If I were at that level, I would be here to participate, not just to observe."

Marini also applied for the center's sculpture exhibition, but his work was not selected.

Seeing Ronan's work, he felt both jealous and happy; his feelings were extremely complicated.

Gabriel smiled and comforted his old friend:

"Don't rush. Many artists are late bloomers. Maybe you will be even more amazing than Ronan in the future. You know, hard work and talent are equally important."

In the eyes of Ronan's friends, Ronan was undoubtedly a gifted player—the kind who was practically born with natural talent.

Marini's tone wasn't very friendly:
"I'm almost 40, how much longer do I have to wait before I can become successful?"

Gabriel chuckled awkwardly twice:

"That means you don't have enough learning materials. Wait, I'll buy Ronan's book so you can study it at your own pace!"

One reason is to help Marini with his studies, and the other is to continue to increase Ronan's favorability.

Ronan has shone brightly in Gold, and his influence within the wine association will undoubtedly grow even stronger in the future. Gabriel has decided to further invest in him!
Gabriel's art advisor was also by his side, and he immediately pointed to the work and whispered to the art advisor behind him.

Not far away, Rodrigo's brow furrowed slightly.

He and Gabriel had no connection, but they had met at some business gatherings.

Is this candy king competing with him?
It's quite possible, really.

The connection between desserts and candy is extremely close. Does Gabriel want to buy the copyright and monetize it on a large scale?

While he was thinking, another acquaintance of Rodrigo appeared.

No, it's two.

"These two are in Provence too?" Rodrigo muttered under his breath.

The Royal Academy of Fine Arts is a prestigious institution in the French art world, often referred to as the 'heart' of French art, and its professors are naturally all highly respected figures.

In the field of modern art, the most famous professor at the Royal College of Art is Goldman.

This major event in the Provençal art world also attracted him and his students.

"This is the dessert that people were bidding on even before the event started," Professor Goldman's deputy, Ali, explained to him.

"Interesting, someone actually creates art with desserts. And it's quite good." Professor Goldman bent down and examined it carefully for a few seconds. "The knife skills are very solid."

He said to the students behind him:

“I often say that art has no boundaries and no limitations, and this is a good example. Look at this work and see what we can learn from it.”

While the students were engrossed in taking notes, Professor Goldman said to Ariday:

“Provence is a magical place. It seems that many distinctive artists like to create works around animals. I remember when we went to Aix-en-Provence for an art event about half a year ago, there was a young girl making glassware with several animal sculptures next to it. It was quite unique. This special dessert piece is also an animal.”

Ali Dai was looking at the description of the artwork next to him and said with a smile:
"Professor, the original inspiration for this work is actually related to a girl. Should we let the students hear the story behind this work? Perhaps it can broaden their creative thinking?"

Professor Goldman nodded:
“Sure, the purpose of bringing them to Provence this time is to see and learn more. Go and ask when this artist will come to talk about his works? We’ll come and listen then.”

“Okay.” Ali left the Royal Academy group and went to ask the advisor who had received them, “When will the artist arrive?”

Consultants at high-end art exhibitions must be highly perceptive; without Ali explaining the reasons, she understood the needs:
"Please wait a moment while I coordinate the time and see if the artist can come over now."

Rodrigo began to get serious.

In France, everyone involved in the art world knows Professor Goldman and his deputy.

Although the Royal Academy of Arts is a school, it also has its own museum. Is Alida also consulting with art advisors?
If it were a competition with the Royal Academy of Arts, Rodrigo wouldn't be so confident.

They are academic authorities.

That's not a matter of money anymore.

The arrival of people from the Royal Academy of Arts made Rodrigo feel threatened.

He reminded his art advisor that they had learned enough about this area and should go check out the other side.

Seeing that Mr. Rodrigo had lingered in front of the work for so long, the consultant mistakenly assumed that he was interested. So instead of leaving immediately, the consultant elevated the theme of the work, hoping to give this powerful buyer a push to make a decision.

During the final stages of the art consultant's work, Rodrigo saw another familiar face in front of Ronan's work.

That's right, a third familiar face has appeared!
At a gathering of high-end collectors in Provence, the woman sitting next to him was also there; she was also a prominent collector!
There was no way around it; everyone had heard that someone was bidding on this dessert even before the exhibition opened. They were so curious about what kind of creation it was and wanted to see it as soon as possible.

The woman, accompanied by a group of people, arrived at the artwork. After just one glance, she exclaimed in surprise to those around her:
“Completely different from the style of ‘Hope’. I thought this new artist named Ronan was good at narrative style works, but I didn’t expect him to be so skilled.”

Beside her also was the art consultant for the center's sculpture exhibition, who introduced the collection to the woman-like collector:
“Ms. Sanson, this piece not only demonstrates Ronan’s sculpting skills, but it is also a narrative work. You will know this when you read the description.”

The woman named Sangsong shifted her gaze to the artwork description.

At first, her expression was normal, but the more you looked at her, the more shocked she became, until finally her mouth gaped open.

"It's actually related to love! This is the first piece of art related to love that I've seen during my visit to Goldberg!"

In fact, many collectors remained calm because the theme of this series of events was too 'homogeneous,' revolving entirely around nature and only around nature.

Seeing one or two items might seem novel, but after seeing many, they become commonplace.

But this work actually connects nature and love!
That's clever!
Without much hesitation, Ms. Sanson immediately told the art consultant:
"I am interested in this work."

Rodrigo, a few meters away, was completely unsettled; he had witnessed the entire process of Ms. Sanson's change of attitude.

Before the art consultant could finish speaking, he walked alone toward the work that had attracted the interest of at least four groups of people shortly after it was exhibited.

In fact, Rodrigo's criteria for judging the quality of artworks differ from those of other collectors. He does not value the exquisiteness of the work, nor is he interested in the story behind its creation; he only values ​​the commercial potential of the work.

But the fact that so many 'acquaintances' expressed interest in the work made Rodrigo, unusually, curious about its appearance and background story.

What kind of work is this, and what is the story behind it?
Soon, he finally saw the true appearance of this dessert.

It was an exquisitely carved little bird, with each feather lifelike.

It is entirely white, with red flecks on its wings, and stands on a hydrangea made of exquisite patterns, surrounded by branches and flowers.

“It is indeed a fine work of art.” Rodrigo put his monocle on his face, indicating that he was about to appreciate it properly.

After examining the appearance, Rodrigo turned his attention to the description of the work beside it:
Title of the work – Lovebird
Work Introduction:

"After moving to Provence, I have always had a lovely little bird by my side."

In spring, she swept over my head and awakened me from my hibernation.

In summer, she flaps her wings, bringing a minty coolness to the midday sun.

In autumn, she knocks on the door with golden ears of wheat, reminding me that the harvest season has begun.

In winter, she sheltered me under her wings, protecting me from the battering of the Mistral winds.

She loves observing nature and birds; she says that was her favorite thing to do when she was a child.

I love watching her, especially the adorable way she mimics birds. That's what I love doing most since I moved to Provence.

My girl translates her observations of nature into her artworks, with birds being her favorite subject.

I also incorporated my observations into my artwork, creating a painting of 'her'.

This bird is called Lovebird.

The male and female birds are often inseparable and are regarded as love birds, symbolizing fidelity and protection to their partners.

In reality, she and I are inseparable.

I hope this work can also accompany the birds she created.

While protecting the most beautiful aspects of nature in her eyes, I will sprout wings and carry my longing for her.

In the crowd, Rodrigo's body began to tremble slightly, and his fingers involuntarily clenched.

He vowed he had to win this project, he absolutely had to!
He saw immense commercial value in this work!

Suddenly, a noticeable commotion broke out in the surrounding crowd, and someone shouted:
"It's Ronan! Ronan's here to introduce his work!"

(End of this chapter)